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The musical tastes of the members of The Invisible Swordsmen branch off in different directions, but they all intersect at one shared influence - a core love of good rock music.

The band's sets brim with tunes from artists that define classic rock - Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. The same rock edge influences its original material released as an EP "Born Too Late" in December.

"That's what we share and that's what we try to create - good, solid rock music," said guitarist Matt Wazowicz of Scranton.

He, Chris Zellers of Scranton and Jere Gromelski of Clarks Summit are the "most original" members of The Invisible Swordsmen, which made its debut in 2008. The name references comedy flick "Three Amigos," starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short.

Joining forces

Wazowicz started playing music in 2002 with some high school friends, but asked Zellers, his coworker at Quints Army & Navy in Scranton, to join when the band got more serious. They performed as a four-piece with bassist Gromelski and another drummer for about two years before adding drummer Neil Prisco and vocalist Patrick DePew.

Prisco, originally from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., moved to the area after college for work, where he met Zellers. He performed with DePew, also of Poughkeepsie, in an acoustic duo called Savage Henry, playing '80s female pop ballads. The groups decided they complemented each other and joined forces.

"I guess the moral is get a job with Chris," Wazowicz said.

Members call DePew their "Poughkeepsie gypsy" because he lives out of town. His strong vocal presence is suited for a variety of material, from female-driven vocals to the signature scream of Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell.

"His voice is very versatile and it's filled in a lot of holes that we needed," Zellers said.

The band started playing covers for the joy of replicating the songs they loved growing up, and also to hone their playing and songwriting skills. Their initial list of covers read like a wish list of songs members wanted to hear bands play when they went out to a bar, Zellers said. Crafting original material takes time and practice, and playing the covers was a way to have fun and improve their abilities at the same time.

"Everyone's intentions and goals are to write your own music, but when you're first starting out it's not the easiest thing to do," Wazowicz said.

First EP

Writing their own music, and getting it heard, was always a goal though, he added. When they gathered enough original material, they channeled their creative drive into their first EP. They set a self-imposed deadline for the last day of October, said Gromelski adding they would still be recording if they hadn't set the deadline.

"Some stuff isn't done until the recording equipment is turned off," he said.

The songwriting process is democratic, with a lot of material coming from jam sessions, Prisco said. The process also showcases the members' different influences. One of the tracks, "Broken Promises," was a song Gromelski wrote before Prisco and DePew joined the band.

"It's definitely a whole group effort," Prisco said.

Members write as much as they can in their free time, at home or with the group. They are excited about the new material they are working on as well, including five fresh songs they are testing out on local audiences. Fan reaction to the songs plays a part in their development, Wazowicz said. A lot of the material is still malleable or in beta mode right now, he said.

"We're excited to play every time we play," Gromelski said. "There's nothing quite like the feeling of somebody dancing or tapping their foot to something you wrote."

Up next: The band performs Saturday at The Keys in Scranton and Aug. 10 at Coopers in Scranton.

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